Unravelling Stent implanted in lungs for cancer relief

Patients suffering from lung cancer may have tumours that squeeze the airways. To relieve this problem, stents are today inserted to push back the tumour, avoiding the patient being suffocated.

The stents of today are adequate for providing the patient with free airways, but tend to cause problems over time. When the radiation/chemotherapy has diminished the tumour, the presence of a stent is not necessary any longer. The general permanent stents of today hinder mucus to pass with repeated pneumonias to follow. Temporarily placement of a stent would be optimal. The Unravelling Stent is an excellent candidate for this type of treatment.

During the fall of 2014, a number of stents were inserted into the airways of pigs at St Olavs Hospital in Trondheim, Norway. The studies included acute and chronic observations. In the chronical experiments knitted stents were left for two weeks before removal (see video). All interventions had an ideal outcome.

“The results are very promising, once again showing the great potential behind the Unravelling Stent”, says CEO Erney Mattsson. “Implants should only be in place as long as they have a function – after that, they should be removed in a minimally-invasive manner. This is exactly what the Unravelling Stent is capable of!”